The Uzbek pavilion at the International Architecture Exhibition examines the traditional mahalla. An example of social resistance and cohesion shaped by both climate and religion

摘要

Uzbekistan's debut at the International Architecture Exhibition in Venice (until 21 November) not only aims to answer the age-old question posed by the curator Hashim Sarkis via the title "How will we live together?", but also offers an unusual point of view on how, architecture and social life as an entity, is interpreted on the outskirts of the globalised world. The focus of the study carried out by the Uzbek pavilion is the mahalla, the traditional form of urban neighbourhood that, in the Central-Asian country, still survives within the capital Tashkent, as well as elsewhere. «Historically, mahalla has been a powerful cultural center and an effective self-government body. Therefore, our national pavilion is devoted to this institution which is the foundation of our civil society.» explains Saida Mirziyoyeva, Deputy Chairman of the Council of the Art and Culture Development Foundation under the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Gayane Umerova, the Commissioner and executive director of the ACDF continues: "Our aim was to promote an international discussion between European curators and artists, and local scholars, presenting the aspects of our local architecture in an objective manner, without making it seem exotic to a global audience." "When we were contacted in December 2019, the Uzbekistan government -and specifically the Art and Culture Development Foundation under the Ministry of Culture of Uzbekistan (ACDF),-gave us a clean slate with regards to the theme", recalls Victoria Easton from the firm Christ & Gantenbein, which handled the research and the exhibition setup. We chose to focus on the mahalla, as it encompasses many of the fundamental themes that come in to play in imagining a possible way of "living together", for example, a sustainable model for modern urban society, a form of urban rural living. The exhibition will be the final result of an examination and documentation process that took us to Asia many times, working in very close contact with institutions, the academic world and the local population." The Commissioner Gayane Umerova explains: "As well as the curators, we have also called on Uzbek scholars who have dedicated years to studying the architectural and social aspects of the mahallas, inviting them to contribute their experience to the project, which will later be published in various formats. Another fundamental contribution to the work of the curators has been provided by students from the CCA Lab, an experimental interdisciplinary workshop at the Tashkent Center for Contemporary Arts. They accompanied members of the curators'team, Victoria Easton and Stefano Zeni, assisting them in studying the social characteristics of the various mahallas. They also created a fanzine, under the supervision of the CCA LAB curator 2020/2021 Saodat Ismailova, which will be available at the Uzbek Pavilion at Biennale Architettura 2021."